Gary Lineker wanted by BT Sport to present their Premier League coverage next season after the presenter’s controversial MOTD axing… with only a major BBC climbdown likely to see him return
- Gary Lineker was controversially taken off air for Match of the Day on Friday
- But the decision has backfired with many backing the show’s longtime presenter
- Lineker may return to BT Sport where he presented Champions League games
Gary Lineker is wanted by BT Sport to become the face of their rebranded football coverage next season, with the Match of the Day presenter set to be inundated with offers following his suspension by the BBC.
The former England captain’s future at the corporation remains in the balance with sources close to the presenter saying that a major climbdown from the BBC will be required for him to return to MOTD.
BT Sport will be relaunched as TNT Sports this summer after being taken over by Warner Brothers Discovery and the joint venture are in the market for presenting talent, with Lineker understood to be top of their shopping list.
The 62-year-old hosted BT Sports Champions League coverage for six years until 2021 and lives close to the new studios they are set to move to in west London.
TNT Sports will have two seasons of live Premier League rights and four more years of Champions League matches when they launch later this year, and are also in the market to buy EFL rights.
Gary Lineker was axed from BBC’s coverage of Match of the Day, with the presenter smiling along with his son as he watches his lifelong team Leicester take on Chelsea on Saturday
Lineker was previously part of BT Sport for their coverage of the UEFA’s Champions League
Math of the Day is in ‘crisis’ with no presenters, pundits or commentators for the first time in its history after the corporation’s decision to boot Gary Lineker off air led to mass walkouts
A regular programme of one weekend Premier League game and occasional Champions League midweeks may appeal to Lineker, as it would not be significantly more onerous than his current schedule.
The BBC’s surprise decision to suspend Lineker on Friday afternoon has had a devastating impact on their sport scheduling across television and radio this weekend after fellow presenters, pundits and commentators refused to work in an act of solidarity.
In addition to today’s Football Focus, Final Score and radio commentaries being scrapped Sunday’s MOTD2 and live coverage of the Women’s Super League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United is also in doubt.
Supporters at the King Power Stadium offered their support for Lineker on Saturday
There were many banners for the former England captain who used to play for the club
Ian Wright (centre) and Alan Shearer (right) both confirmed they will not be appear on Match of the Day after Lineker was temporarily dropped from BBC’s popular football programme
Presenter Alex Scott (above) stepped down from her role on Football Focus in solidarity with Lineker, causing the BBC to cancel the programme as Kelly Sommers also joined the boycott
In the backlash that followed the broadcaster’s dropping of host Gary Lineker, commentators and pundits including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright said they would not work on the Saturday-night staple.
Sportsmail understands that the BBC has been unable to secure alternative television commentary for today’s Premier League games and was forced to consider dropping the show completely from tonight’s schedule.
The development is the latest in an astonishing turn of events after Lineker was effectively suspended by the BBC following a controversial tweet earlier this week in which he likened the Conservative party‘s language in regards to their latest migrant policy to something out of Germany in the 1930s.
Mark Chapman refused to host Radio 5 Live Sport while presenters Alex Scott and Kelly Sommers joined the boycott, which has seen Football Focus and Final Score canned.